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Numbers 20

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Miriam Dies; Water Crisis at Kadesh 1–13

1
Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. ​
2
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3
And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! ​
4
And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
7
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. ​
9
And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? ​
11
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. ​
12
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. ​
13
This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them. ​

Edom Refuses Israel Passage 14–21

14
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: ​
15
How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
16
And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
17
Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
18
And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
19
And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
20
And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. ​
21
Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

The Death of Aaron 22–29

22
And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
23
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,
24
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. ​
25
Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:
26
And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. ​
27
And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. ​
29
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 20

Verse 1

Miriam died there — Kadesh is 'in the wilderness of Zin' (Num 33:36). The year is not given here. Miriam, who led the women with timbrels after the sea (Ex 15:20), is buried there. Aaron dies later in this same chapter (v.28), 'in the fortieth year' (33:38).

Verse 3

the people chode with Moses — Riv, to strive or contend, is the verb of v.13, 'the children of Israel strove', and the root of the name Meribah. It is also the word of the first water in the wilderness: 'the people did chide with Moses' (Ex 17:2). Their wish echoes 14:2, 'Would God we had died in this wilderness!'

Verse 8

speak ye unto the rock — The rod is taken 'from before the LORD' (v.9), where Aaron's rod was kept (17:10). The command is to 'speak', where at Horeb it was 'thou shalt smite the rock' (Ex 17:6). The rock here and in vv.10–11 is sela, a crag; in Ex 17:6 it is tsur.

Verse 10

Hear now, ye rebels — Morim is the participle of marah, to rebel, the verb of v.24, 'ye rebelled against my word'. Ps 106:32–33 describes the day: 'they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.' Num 27:14 gives the LORD's own verdict: 'ye rebelled against my commandment'.

Verse 11

he smote the rock twice — Moses 'lifted up his hand' and struck the rock, though he was told to speak. The water still 'came out abundantly' for the congregation and their beasts, as the LORD had said (v.8). Paul says of the water in the wilderness, 'they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ' (1 Cor 10:4).

Verse 12

Because ye believed me not — Aman, to believe, is the word of Gen 15:6. The charge is joined to 'to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel', with qadash. Deut 32:51 names the same fault: 'ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel'. The penalty is that they 'shall not bring this congregation into the land'.

Verse 13

the water of Meribah — Meribah, strife, comes from riv (vv.3, 13). Moses had called an earlier place Massah and Meribah (Ex 17:7); this one is 'Meribah in Kadesh' (Num 27:14). 'He was sanctified' is the same verb as 'to sanctify me' in v.12. Ps 81:7 says the LORD 'proved' Israel here, and Ps 95:8 warns, 'Harden not your heart, as in the provocation'.

Verse 14

thy brother Israel — Edom is Esau (Gen 36:1), and Israel descends from his brother Jacob. The Law keeps the bond: 'Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother' (Deut 23:7). 'Travail' is telaah, hardship, found elsewhere only in Ex 18:8, Neh 9:32 and Lam 3:5. Moses lists it in vv.15–16.

Verse 20

Thou shalt not go through — Edom had said 'lest I come out against thee with the sword' (v.18), and Israel had offered 'the king's high way' (v.17). Israel 'turned away from him' (v.21), as the LORD had commanded: 'Meddle not with them… I have given mount Seir unto Esau' (Deut 2:5). Obadiah 10 later charges Edom with 'violence against thy brother Jacob'.

Verse 24

Aaron shall be gathered unto his people — This is the verb asaph, said of Moses too (Deut 32:50, which compares Aaron's death on mount Hor). 'My word' is literally 'my mouth' (peh), the speech of v.8. Num 27:14 repeats it when Moses is told of his own death: 'ye rebelled against my commandment'.

Verse 26

strip Aaron of his garments — The 'holy garments of Aaron' pass to his sons, 'after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them' (Ex 29:29). They are put on Eleazar while Aaron lives, and he 'shall die there' on mount Hor, 'by the coast of the land of Edom' (v.23), in the sight of all the congregation (v.27).

Verse 28

Aaron died there in the top of the mount — Num 33:38–39 gives the date, 'the first day of the fifth month' of the fortieth year, and his age, 'an hundred and twenty and three years'. Moses and Eleazar came down, and Aaron did not. Deut 10:6 says of Eleazar, 'he ministered in the priest's office in his stead'.

Verse 29

they mourned for Aaron thirty days — The Hebrew says 'wept' (bakah), the verb of 11:4. The same thirty days are given for Moses: 'the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days' (Deut 34:8). The congregation 'saw that Aaron was dead' (gava, to expire), the word of their own cry in 17:12, 'we die'.